Enhance documentation for REPLCONF GETACK offset tracking

Clarify the offset tracking process for REPLCONF GETACK commands, including examples and expected responses.

Author: TropicolX

stage_descriptions/replication-15-yd3.md

@@ -1,30 +1,29 @@
 In this stage, you'll extend your `REPLCONF GETACK` implementation to respond with the number of bytes of commands processed by the replica.
 
+### ACKs (Recap)
+
+As a recap, a master uses ACKs to verify that its replicas are in sync with it and haven't fallen behind. Each ACK contains an offset — the number of bytes of commands processed by the replica.
+
 ### Offset tracking
 
-As we saw in previous stages, when a replica receives a command from the master, it processes the command and updates its state accordingly. In addition to processing commands, the replica also keeps a running count of the number of bytes of commands it has processed.
-
-This count is called the "offset". When a master sends a `REPLCONF GETACK` command to a replica, the replica is expected to respond with `REPLCONF ACK <offset>`. The returned `<offset>` should only include the number of bytes of commands processed **before** receiving the `REPLCONF GETACK` command.
-
-As an example:
-
-- Let's say a replica connects to a master and completes the handshake.
-- The master then sends a `REPLCONF GETACK *` command.
-  - The replica should respond with `REPLCONF ACK 0`.
-  - The returned offset is 0 since no commands have been processed yet (before receiving the `REPLCONF GETACK` command)
-- The master then sends `REPLCONF GETACK *` again.
-  - The replica should respond with `REPLCONF ACK 37`.
-  - The returned offset is 37 since the first `REPLCONF GETACK` command was processed, and it was 37 bytes long.
-  - The RESP encoding for the `REPLCONF GETACK` command looks like this: `*3\r\n$8\r\nreplconf\r\n$6\r\ngetack\r\n$1\r\n*\r\n` (that's 37 bytes long)
-- The master then sends a `PING` command to the replica (masters do this periodically to notify replicas that the master is still alive).
-  - The replica must silently process the `PING` command and update its offset. It should not send a response back to the master.
-- The master then sends `REPLCONF GETACK *` again (this is the third REPLCONF GETACK command received by the replica)
-  - The replica should respond with `REPLCONF ACK 88`.
-  - The returned offset is 88 (37 + 37 + 14)
-    - 37 for the first `REPLCONF GETACK` command
-    - 37 for the second `REPLCONF GETACK` command
-    - 14 for the `PING` command
-- Note that the third `REPLCONF GETACK` command is not included in the offset, since the value should only include the number of bytes of commands processed **before** receiving the current `REPLCONF GETACK` command.
+A replica keeps its offset updated by tracking the total byte size of every command received from its master. This includes both write commands (like `SET`, `DEL`) and non-write commands (like `PING`, `REPLCONF GETACK *`).
+
+After processing the received command (e.g., `["SET", "foo", "bar]`), it adds the full RESP array byte length to its running offset.
+
+An important rule for this process is that the offset should only include commands processed **before** the current `REPLCONF GETACK *` request.
+
+For example:
+
+- A replica connects, completes the handshake, and the master sends `REPLCONF GETACK *`.
+  - The replica responds with `REPLCONF ACK 0` since no commands had been processed before this request.
+- Next, the master sends another `REPLCONF GETACK *`.
+  - The replica responds with `REPLCONF ACK 37`, because the previous `REPLCONF` command consumed 37 bytes.
+- The master then sends a `PING` command.
+  - The replica silently processes it, increments its offset by 14, and sends no response.
+- The next `REPLCONF GETACK *` arrives.
+  - The replica responds with `REPLCONF ACK 88` — that’s 37 (for the first `REPLCONF`), +37 (for the second `REPLCONF`), +14 (for the `PING`).
+
+Notice that the current `GETACK` request itself is not included in the offset value.
 
 ### Tests
 
@@ -39,16 +38,16 @@ Just like in the previous stages, your replica should complete the handshake wit
 The master will then propagate a series of commands to your replica. These commands will be interleaved with `REPLCONF GETACK *` commands.
 
 ```bash
-REPLCONF getack * # expecting REPLCONF ACK 0, since 0 bytes have been processed
+REPLCONF getack *    # expect: REPLCONF ACK 0
 
-ping # master sending a ping command to notify the replica that it's still alive
-REPLCONF getack * # expecting REPLCONF ACK 51
-# 51 = 37 (for the first REPLCONF command) + 14 (for the ping command)
+PING                 # replica processes silently
+REPLCONF getack *    # expect: REPLCONF ACK 51
+# 51 = 37 (first REPLCONF) + 14 (PING)
 
-set foo 1 # propagated from master to replica
-set bar 2 # propagated from master to replica
-REPLCONF getack * # expecting REPLCONF ACK 146
-# 146 = 51 + 37 (for the second REPLCONF command) + 29 (for the first set command) + 29 (for the second set command)
+SET foo 1             # replica processes silently
+SET bar 2             # replica processes silently
+REPLCONF getack *    # expect: REPLCONF ACK 146
+# 146 = 51 + 37 (second REPLCONF) + 29 (SET foo) + 29 (SET bar)
 ```
 
 Your replica must calculate and return the exact offset at each step.
@@ -57,6 +56,4 @@ Your replica must calculate and return the exact offset at each step.
 
 - The offset should only include the number of bytes of commands processed **before** receiving the current `REPLCONF GETACK` command.
 - Although masters don't propagate `PING` commands when received from clients (since they aren't "write" commands), they may send `PING` commands to replicas to notify replicas that the master is still alive.
-- Replicas should update their offset to account for **all** commands propagated from the master, including `PING` and `REPLCONF` itself.
-- The response should be encoded as a [RESP array](https://redis.io/docs/latest/develop/reference/protocol-spec/#arrays), like
-  this: `*3\r\n$8\r\nREPLCONF\r\n$3\r\nACK\r\n$3\r\n154\r\n`.
+- The response should be encoded as a [RESP array](https://redis.io/docs/latest/develop/reference/protocol-spec/#arrays).